2 by 4
by Topazicatzbeth
Summary: Danny runs off after a suspect, leaving the team to worry.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: A massive thanks to Wenwalke for the beta. She is just amazing. As always the story is complete so I will be posting regularly. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own H50. Just having some fun with them.**

**Chapter One.**

Steve pulled the Camaro along side Kono's car and he and Danny hopped out. They moved to the trunk of the car, and each pulled out their tac vest and started to put it on.

While Steve secured his holster around his thigh, Danny called to Chin, "Is Kamekona sure about this tip?"

"As sure as he can be. His source is usually pretty reliable." Chin replied, checking his trusty shotgun.

"It's the best tip we've had all week." Kono added.

"We've been chasing our tails all week Danny, trying to catch these guys. We have to check out the lead." Steve added. He was right, and Danny knew it. The team had been trying to trace a gang that had been selling guns to teenagers. So far two teenagers had ended up hospitalised, and it was only a matter of time before a life was lost.

None of the teenagers had been able to give them much information on the gang, and the team had no idea where the gang was based. So far any little leads they had gotten had led to dead ends, and every member of the team was feeling extremely frustrated.

Steve and Danny had been returning to HQ, after visiting the latest shooting victim, when Chin called telling them that Kamekona had heard of a possible location for the gang's base.

Checking that everyone was ready, and radioing HPD for backup, Danny got back in the car and was joined by Steve. Soon they were tearing into the warehouse parking lot and exiting their vehicles.

As they entered the warehouse they were greeted with a shower of bullets. Each member took cover to avoid being hit as the four gang members randomly fired shots at where each 5-0 member was hiding.

The gang members split up trying to make a get away. The guy nearest Danny made a run for the fire door behind him and Danny followed, seconds behind, without the rest of his team noticing.

Kono saw her opportunity and circled around behind one of the guys. She crept up behind him as he wildly fired shots at a large crate Chin was hiding behind. Kono placed her gun against the small of the guys back and demanded he drop his gun. The guy wisely complied, dropping his gun to the ground and raising his hands. Kono quickly zip tied his hand behind his back then secured his feet, making sure he couldn't get away.

Steve was locked in a gun battle with another guy. He was a much better shot than the rest of his gang, and at least two of his bullets had narrowly missed hitting Steve. The man stopped to reload his gun, and Steve took his opportunity to climb up on top of the crate he was using for cover. Steve jump across to the crate his assailant was crouched behind. As the guy brought up his newly loaded gun, Steve fired two shots into the man's chest, and he fell back, instantly dead.

The fourth and final guy left in the warehouse saw his fellow gang members either captured or dead and dropped his gun in submission. Chin quickly pounced on him and secured him while reading him his rights.

Kono forced her man to join Chins as the wail of the HPD sirens, hit their ears.

Steve walked over to them and forced open the lid of the nearby crate revealing row upon row of guns. "Looks like Kamekona's Intel was correct. See Danny, I told you his lead was solid." He gloated.

Upon receiving no snarky reply Steve scanned the warehouse for his partner. "Danny! Danny!" Turning to his team members he asked, "Did either of you see where Danny went?"

Both shook their heads, "Was kind of busy brah." Chin said indicating the two men at his feet.

"Wait, weren't there four guys?" Kono asked.

The realisation hit them all that they had a team member missing along with a bad guy short. Steve turned to his left where he had last seen his partner and saw the emergency exit doors wide open. "Come on." He instructed the others as he jogged over to the doors and exited the building.

Raising his hand to his ear piece, he tried to contact his best friend. "Danny, come in. Where the hell are you? Danny I need your position."

No answer came and he looked to the others, worry showing on all their faces. They surveyed the area surrounding the building, but there was no sign of their fourth team member.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Danny followed the man out of the emergency exit and ducked as a bullet flew at his head. Crouching low for a second he saw the man with long greasy, black, hair tied loosely back in a pony tail, race around the corner of the building. Danny sprinted after him and peered around the corner, checking to see if the coast was clear. There were rows upon rows of pallets stacked high, Danny had no idea where his perp had gone. As he started to search through the rows, he had to throw himself to the ground and roll behind a stack of pallets as bullets rained down on him. Getting to his feet he quickly popped out from behind the stack and fired two shots, one found its target, hitting the man in the shoulder. The thug fired back, then stopped as his gun clicked empty. He realised he was out of bullets, so threw the gun to the ground and disappeared back behind the stack and out of sight.

Danny continued his pursuit. Knowing his target was now without a weapon, he sped up. Drops of blood stained the ground leaving an easy trail for Danny to follow. As he turned yet another corner Danny realised his mistake a second too late, his target had circled around and come up behind him. Attempting to spin around, Danny saw, out of the corner of his eye, the piece of two by four being swung at his head. There was a sickening thud as it connected with the side of his head and Danny fell to the ground.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: Thank you all for the great reviews, please keep them coming, I love reading them all.**

**This originally was two chapters but I decided they went better together as one longer one. Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter Two.**

Danny slowly became aware of his surroundings. Feeling the grit from the floor grinding into his cheek, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He clamped his eyes shut as he waited for his world to stop spinning, and the pounding in his head to dial back a notch. Bringing his hand up to the right side of his head, he felt a large lump there, but was thankful to see no blood. He looked around and saw no sign of his attacker. Thankfully he must have knocked him out and taken the opportunity to flee.

Not knowing how long he had been unconscious for, Danny went to contact the team via his ear piece.

"Steve." Waiting for a response and not getting one, Danny tried again, "guys? You there?"

He pulled out his ear piece and wincing as the pain flared in his head. He looked at it and saw one of the wires had been knocked loose. "Damn," Danny thought. "No wonder they aren't answering."

Pulling out his phone he cursed upon seeing the screen smashed beyond repair. He must have landed on it when he was knocked out. "No wonder my hip hurts."

Danny needed to check on the rest of his team, so he reached up and pulled himself to standing. The movement caused a wave of dizziness to hit, and then the unfortunate reappearance of his lunch. Danny groaned and rested his head on his arm which he was using to prop himself up. Taking a few deep breaths to clear the nausea and dizziness he started to slowly walk back towards the warehouse.

Steve was now pacing back and forth. "Danny, where the hell are you?" He shouted through his ear piece. "What the hell was he thinking, running off on his own like that?" he spat out. "He says I'm the one that doesn't think things through. If he isn't dead, I'm gonna kill him myself. Danny! Answer me, damn it."

"Steve, calm down." Chin said dialing Danny's number. "Straight to voicemail." He added.

"Ok. Get more HPD officers out here, we spread out and start searching for him." Steve ordered.

"No need." Kono said, looking past Steve and seeing Danny rounding the corner. At Steve's raised eyebrows she pointed past him.

Spinning around, relief flooded Steve as he saw his partner, then he was over taken by anger. Stalking towards Danny he yelled. "Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to get you on your ear piece. What the hell were you thinking?"

Danny winced at the loudness of Steve's voice and the stabbing pains it caused in his head. "Ok, can we take the yelling down a notch, please? My ear piece is broken." Danny replied.

"We tried your cell too." Chin added.

"Broken too." Danny explained holding up the useless phone.

"What the hell were you thinking? Going off on your own like that, Danny?" Steve asked once again.

"I'm sorry, I just..." He stopped and swallowed trying to force back the rising nausea.

"You what?" Steve continued to yell. "It was a stupid move Danny. Anything could have happened, and you had no back up. You always ride me about back up but you ran off on your own and.."

Danny couldn't hold it back any longer, Steve's yelling was like someone repeatedly slamming his head in a door, and the nausea grew with every slam. Danny turned, and bracing his hands on his knees, he bent over and proceeded to vomit again, stopping Steve's rant dead.

"You ok?" Steve asked concerned, and placed his hand supportively on Danny's back.

Slowly standing up and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, he looked Steve in the eyes. "Yeah, sorry." He replied taking a deep breath. "I didn't mean to go off on my own." Another deep breath. "I was just trying to stop him getting away."

"Danny, what the hell happened?" Kono asked concerned as she came over to her friend and saw how pale he looked.

"He got away. Sorry. I hit him in the shoulder though and he was bleeding a lot." Danny explained.

"I meant what happened to you?" She questioned again.

"Oh, he got the better of me with a two by four." Danny said raising his hand to the bump on his head.

"He what?" Steve said pulling Danny's hand away and examining his head. Feeling the bump there he then forced Danny to look him in the eye, hands each side of Danny's face so he couldn't pull away.

"Shit Danny, did you lose consciousness?" Steve asked noting that Danny's pupils were sluggish.

"Erm..."

"Danny!" Steve shouted. Causing his partner to wince at the spike of pain it caused.

"Erm...I may have blacked out for a second." Danny responded.

"You were knocked unconscious." Steve clarified. "What about the guy?"

"He was long gone by the time I came too." Danny apologised.

"If he was long gone, you were unconscious for more than a second, Danny." Kono pointed out.

"Alright, get in the car." Steve ordered.

"What?" Danny questioned as he shook off a dizzy spell. As he opened his eyes he found Steve by his side supporting his arm, and realised he had zoned out for a second.

"Get your arse in the car, now Daniel. I'm taking you to the hospital to get checked out." Steve ordered again.

"I'm fine, just need to sit down for a bit." Danny argued.

"The hell you are, you just went sheet white, if I hadn't grabbed your arm you would have face planted in the dirt, now get in the car." Steve said steering Danny to the passenger side of the Camaro.

Danny sank down into the seat. While he hated to admit it, he was actually glad to be off his feet again as he was starting to feel more dizzy the longer he was stood up. He saw Steve talking to Chin and Kono, then walk over and opened the drivers door.

Steve started the car and peeled out of the parking lot. The fast movement caused Danny's stomach to roll. "Steve, slow down unless you want me to puke." He moaned.

"You puke and you're cleaning it." Steve replied, obviously still pissed at Danny but he did ease off the gas a little.

When they reached the hospital Steve parked the car and quickly got out. He moved around to Danny's side, and opening the door he leaned in. "Wake up sleeping beauty. We're here."

"I wasn't sleeping." Danny protested. "Just trying to stop the world from spinning with your crazy driving."

They entered the hospital, Steve hovering by Danny's side in case he tried to face plant again. They were relieved to find the waiting room empty and Dr. Pearce stood at the reception desk talking with a nurse.

As the two men entered she turned and shook her head. The two men were becoming regular patients of hers, most of the other doctors shied away from the two over baring partners, but she had become familiar with the two and knew how to keep them in line. "What have you done this time Danny?" She knew Danny was the injured one just by watching Steve's tense posture.

"Perp got the better of me with a piece of 2 by 4." Danny replied raising his hand to his head.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed a nearby wheelchair. "Sit." She instructed. "At least you're conscious this time."

"He wasn't though." Steve piped up while following after the pair. "He was knocked out, only we don't know how long for 'cos idiot here decided to play super cop and went off on his own."

As they reached an exam room Dr. Pearce stopped the chair and walked round to face Danny. "In trouble for that one then Danny?" She joked.

"Just a bit." Danny replied sheepishly as he rose from the chair and sat on the gurney, pausing a second to let his brain catch up with the move.

"Dizzy?" Dr. Pearce asked.

"Yeah and sick." Danny replied swinging his legs up with Steve's help so he could lie down.

Dr. Pearce then set about examining Danny, checking his vitals, then examining his head and checking his responses to complete a full neurological check.

"Well you definitely have a concussion, Danny. Your vitals are stable though. I'll order you something to help with the nausea and book you in for a CT to rule out any serious head injury." She explained.

"Err, that's not gonna work for me doc." Danny said trying to sit up only to be stopped by Steve.

"Danny. I really need to make sure there is no bleeding or skull fracture." She explained.

"Yeah, still not gonna happen. I'll stay for observation, but no CT." Danny said starting to get anxious. Dr. Pearce looked at Steve, hoping for an explanation.

Steve placed a reassuring hand on Danny's shoulder. "D, calm down." He said then looked at the doctor. "Danny's claustrophobic, the CT scanner will be way too small for him."

The doctor nodded in realisation. "Ok. Danny I still need a scan, but let's find a way to do this that you're comfortable with."

"What if I came with you Danny? Could I go in with him?" Steve asked.

Knowing that Steve was the best person to keep Danny calm, Dr. Pearce considered it. "You can't go into the actual room with Danny, but I will allow you into the booth. You'll be able to talk to him through the speaker then."

"How about that Danny? You can recite the 86 Mets line up to me." Dr. Pearce gave a confused look to which Steve replied, "don't ask."

Danny considered his options, "I can try, but I can't promise I won't freak out."

"That's fine Danny, how about we try it this way and if it becomes too much I'll sedate you. I'd rather not, as it will make it harder for us to assess you later for concussion checks, but if it's the only way we can get the scan done, then it will have to be that way."

"Sounds like a plan then." Danny said blowing out a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"Ok, then we need to set you up with IV access, in case we need it. I can give you an anti emetic that way, then and it will kick in much faster." At Danny's nod she continued, "I'll get the nurse on that while I speak with the CT department and explain the situation." Then she exited the room.

Steve watched his partner, the anxiety of what was to come was radiating from every pore. His anger at Danny was now replaced with pity. His best friend was suffering enough for his foolish actions and now needed Steve's support to get through a horrible experience.

Steve quickly stepped out of the room to update Chin and Kono, while the nurse obtained IV access and administered the anti emetic. Returning to Danny he was relieved that he now looked less green but was obviously still very anxious. Dr. Pearce arrived with an orderly and they moved Danny to the CT department.

"You can go into the room with him while they get him set up, then you'll need to come with me into the booth." She explained to Steve, who nodded in acknowledgment.

Danny eyed up the CT machine and the round hole his head would go in, it would be much too close to his face. Taking a few deep breaths he laid down on the bed. The technician came over to help him place his head within the padded head restraints and taped them down, while explaining it was to stop him from moving his head. As soon as the last tape was in place, Danny could feel his world closing in on him and the panic setting in. Steve saw it also and grabbed hold of Danny's hand.

"Steady breaths buddy, you're fine. Come on who played 2nd base in the 86 line-up?"

Danny took some calming breaths and answered Steve's question. Dr. Pearce led Steve into the booth and flipped the intercom so he could keep taking to Danny, as the technician moved Danny into the machine.

"That's good Danny, just keep your eyes closed. What about 1st base?"

"Santana." Danny replied. "Carters behind the plate." Danny paused as the machine fired up. His heart was pounding in his chest, which only made his head hurt more.

"You okay, D?" Steve asked.

"No." Danny replied attempting to shake his head.

"Danny you need to keep completely still." Dr. Pearce advised.

"No, I can't do this." Danny whispered while trying to keep a hold of his breathing.

"Deep breaths, Danny." Steve said trying to get his partner to calm down. "Come on buddy, your safe. Just take deep breaths and it will be done before you know it."

Danny desperately tried to control his breathing but couldn't stop himself from hyperventilating. "I need to get out." He said his voice barely a whisper. "Get me out, please." He pleaded.

Seeing her patient become distressed Dr. Pearce nodded to the technician, who shut down the machine, she then slipped into the room and picked up a syringe from a tray at the side. She took Danny's right hand, connected the syringe to the cannula there and slowly injected the sedative.

"It's ok Danny, you did well to try. Just relax, this should help." She reassured as Danny's breathing gradually settled down. She carefully slipped a nasal cannula under Danny's nose and connected up the oxygen then placed a pulse oximeter on Danny's finger so she could monitor him. "Won't be long now, Danny." She reassured. Receiving no reply, she was satisfied that Danny was suitably sedated to continue with the scan.

On returning to the booth she saw Steve's devastated face. "You did your best Steve, it's a really tight space, and we probably never stood a chance of getting the scan with him awake."

"I could have calmed him better if I was in there with him." Steve replied.

"I know, but I couldn't allow you in there. He's settled now and we are getting the images we need. We will just have to keep a closer eye on him." She reassured.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

An hour later Chin and Kono entered Danny's hospital room. Danny was fast asleep, nasal cannula still in place and a single IV running in fluids. Wires sneaked out the top of Danny's hospital gown, connected to a heart monitor, and a BP cuff was wrapped around his right arm.

Steve sat in the chair at the bedside, looking totally defeated.

"Steve," Chin called, snapping his boss out of his thoughts. "The nurse sent us straight in. We didn't hear anything and got worried."

"God, I'm sorry guys. I should have called." Steve said ashamed that he hadn't let them know the results of the scan.

"How is he?" Kono asked, worried that the results must have been bad for Steve to look so distraught.

"He's fine. No bleed just a moderate concussion." Steve filled them in.

Both Hawaiians let out a breath. "Then why do you look like your dog died?" Kono enquired.

"I couldn't keep him calm for them to do the scan. He started to panic because it was too claustrophobic. They had to sedate him to get it done. Now they have to do a load more checks as he isn't with it enough to answer their questions." Steve informed them.

"Steve. He's ok and that's what matters." Chin reassured. "If you couldn't calm him, no one could."

"Yeah, I guess." Steve replied, still not looking convinced.

Danny surprised them all by rolling onto his side and saying, "I'm trying to sleep here guys, would you mind keeping it down."

Kono gave a little laugh, "sorry Danny. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts." He said peeling his eyes open. "What's the damage?" He asked Steve.

"A concussion, no bleeding." Steve answered his best friend. "You have to stay tonight and hopefully they will release you tomorrow. Thankfully you have a thick head."

"You still mad at me?" Danny sheepishly asked.

Steve sighed then replied. "No. I've had time to cool off. I'd have probably done the same thing."

"Probably?" Kono snorted, "More like definitely."

Danny sat himself up in bed and waited as a wave of dizziness passed. Then he looked at Steve, who looked concerned. "I'm sorry I freaked out, it just felt so small, and my head taped down like that..."

"Don't, its fine. I'm sorry I couldn't help keep you calm." Steve interrupted.

"I think only the boat load of drugs Dr. Pearce pumped me full of was gonna keep me calm." Danny responded. "Speaking of which, man I feel so groggy."

"The drugs will take a few more hours to leave your system," Steve informed his partner. "Add in the concussion, you're bound to feel rough. Get some more sleep the nurses will be in lots to check on you."

"Ok." Danny said lowering himself back down. "Sorry guys, I'm not much company." He added apologetically to Chin and Kono.

"Don't sweat it brah," Chin replied. "But before you go back to sleep, thought you'd like to know the guy who hit you is in custody."

"Really?" Danny asked opening one eye.

"He made it to the road. Then passed out from blood loss caused by the bullet wound you gave him." Chin smirked. "He's been patched up and is being booked as we speak."

Danny smiled and simply replied, "Good," before closing his eye again and allowing himself to drift back off to sleep.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: How about a little more whump?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own H50.**

**Chapter Three.**

Steve unlocked his front door and ushered Danny in. Dr. Pearce had made her rounds late morning and discharged Danny on the proviso that he stayed with Steve for at least that night, as Danny was still feeling some of the effects of the concussion.

Setting down two paper bags on the table, one containing food for lunch and the other painkillers and anti emetics for Danny, Steve directed Danny to the couch. "How about we eat and then you can take your meds and go to bed for a bit, you look shattered."

"That sounds like a very good idea, but on one condition." Danny replied stifling a yawn.

"And that would be?" Steve asked raising his eyebrows.

"You go to bed too." Danny stated. "You were woken up too every god damn time the nurses came in to do the stupid concussion checks. You didn't have to stay you know."

"I know I didn't, I wanted to stay to make sure you behaved yourself and didn't do anything stupid again." Steve retorted sternly. "But a nap does sound good. Man I'm going soft. I used to be able to go days without sleep."

"Maybe we should arrange some cold water conditioning to toughen you up." Danny smirked.

"Maybe you should join me?" Steve replied, "My Super SEAL ways seem to have rubbed off on you."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen. I learnt my lesson the hard way." Danny replied rubbing the side of his head.

At that Steve went into the kitchen and grabbed some plates and bottles of water, then started to dish out the lunch they had bought. It was nothing fancy, just some sandwiches and chips from the deli next door to the pharmacy where they had filled Danny's prescriptions.

Once the food was finished Steve cleared the plates while Danny took his meds. Grateful that he was now allowed some painkillers, as his head was starting to pound and it spiked if he turned his head a certain way.

"Come on man." Steve said returning to the room and eyeing the pained look on Danny's face. "You're sleeping in the guest room, no arguments. You need a proper bed not the couch. Here, these should help." He added passing Danny some earphones he used when running.

Danny smiled, grateful that his friend had remembered his inability to sleep with the ocean sounds.

They both made their way upstairs and Danny headed into the guest bedroom and lay down on top of the bed covers. Plugging the headphones into his phone he relaxed back into the pillow, the pain meds had started to kick in and his headache was now a dull throb. Closing his eyes he was asleep in seconds.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

The sun broke through the blinds and hit Danny in the face rousing him from his sleep. Checking his phone he realised he had slept for 3 hours. Slowly sitting up he was grateful that his headache had now gone. Exiting the bedroom he paused at Steve's bedroom and gently pushed open the door. The bed was empty, Steve was obviously already up, and a sudden clatter of dishes from downstairs only confirmed this.

Danny slipped into the bathroom and relieved himself. As he washed his hands he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness pass over him and he grabbed the sink to steady himself. Taking slow, deep breaths he hoped his brain would catch onto the fact that he wanted to remain upright. He chanced opening his eyes, which was a big mistake. A sudden spike of pain in his head made him want to vomit and his vision was blurry around the edges and discoloured. "Steve." He croaked, feeling his legs begin to wobble. "Steve!" He managed to yell loud enough to be heard, if the sudden thunder of footsteps up the stairs was anything to go by.

Steve raced into the bathroom, seeing his best friend hunched over the sink eyes squeezed shut, and legs shaking. "What's wrong? You ok?"

"Dizzy, headache, "Danny replied then took a deep breath through his nose. "Sick," he managed to force out before gagging over the sink and having to lock his knees to stop himself from falling to the floor.

Steve quickly grabbed Danny's right arm and swung it over his shoulder while wrapping his left arm around Danny's waist to support his best friend. He steered Danny out of the bathroom, back into the bedroom and helped him lay down. He quickly grabbed the waste paper bin and placed it on the floor by Danny's head, then ran to the bathroom and wet a cloth. Returning he draped it over Danny's forehead and eyes, and Danny sighed with the relief it gave.

Danny felt Steve take hold of his wrist, his fingers searching out a pulse that was much too fast. He then heard Steve talking on the phone to someone and prayed he wasn't calling an ambulance. He'd only been home for a few hours.

"Danny?" Steve whispered not wanting to cause his friend more pain.

"Mmmm," came the reply.

"I just spoke with Dr. Pearce. She thinks you're suffering from an acute migraine, which can happen with a concussion. She said to take another dose of both your meds, and if it doesn't improve or gets worse then we need to head back to the hospital." Steve explained as he pulled the blinds closed, plunging the room into darkness.

Danny lifted his hand and slid the damp cloth up allowing him to peer out. His vision was still blurry around the edges but he was able to see Steve hovering by his side. "You have my doctor's private number?" He asked amused.

"Yeah, she gave me it before we left. She must have known you would be trouble. Don't know where she got that idea from, do you?" Steve innocently replied.

"Trouble, me? Never." Danny sighed.

"How you feeling now?" Steve asked, checking Danny's pulse again, relieved to find it a much steadier pace.

"Still sick and I think my head is going to explode, but I don't feel dizzy now I'm lying down." Danny replied honestly.

Steve patted Danny's chest. "Hang in there buddy, I'll get your meds." He then left the room, returning less than a minute later with the pills and more water. He helped Danny sit up a little and take the much needed medication. Then took the cloth and re wet it in the bathroom.

"Thanks." Danny weakly replied. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, just rest. I'm gonna hang here for a bit, ok?" Steve asked settling down in the chair in the corner of the room.

"Mmmm." Danny replied allowing the medication to help ease him back off to sleep.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

The next morning Chin and Kono arrived at Steve's for breakfast. He had spoken to them the night before, filling them in on how Danny was doing, and inviting them over for a team breakfast. "How's he doing?" Chin asked while chopping up some fresh fruit.

"He hasn't stirred yet this morning, he was snoring very loudly when I looked in on him before my swim. But he felt better last night and managed some food. Thanks for taking care of everything at the office guys."

"It's no problem boss." Kono replied. "But it was really quiet without you both there. I didn't like it."

"Well as long as Danny feels ok, and promises to take it easy, I'll be in today." Steve said with a smile.

"How much did you get done on wrapping up the case?" Steve asked, hoping all the paperwork was done. He really hated that bit.

"We just need yours and Danny's reports and then all the paperwork is done." Chin answered. Seeing Steve's smile he added, "Although you do need to sign off on it all. I'm guessing Danny isn't going to be up to forging your signature today." He couldn't help but laugh as Steve's smile deflated.

"Should I go wake him?" Kono asked, rising to go wake their sleeping beauty.

"No need, he just got up." Steve said pouring the pancake batter into the pan.

"And you know that how?" Chin asked raising his eyebrows.

Steve gave a cocky grin then replied. "I heard the floor board on the landing."

"Of course you did." Chin replied, not surprised in the least at his bosses acute hearing.

All three suddenly startled as they heard a thud from upstairs, Steve quickly moved the pan off the heat, and all three raced to see what had caused the noise.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: Thanks for all the great reviews, sorry about the cliffie, but come on you should know I love them by now.**

**Time to find out what is going on with Danny.**

**Chapter Four.**

Steve was the first to reach the top of the stairs and dived into Danny's room. He found his partner struggling to push himself up from the floor, where he had obviously fallen.

"Danny lay back down." Steve instructed as he forced his partner back down to the floor.

"What happened?" Kono asked concerned as she dropped down to Danny's left side.

"Sorry, I just felt a little dizzy. I was trying to get dressed and I bent down to put on my trousers, the next thing I know I'm on the floor." Danny said, blushing red as he realised his trousers were still around his ankles, he was flashing his boxers to Kono, and he had no shirt on.

"You passed out?" Chin asked from the door way.

"I think I blacked out, but only for a second. Man, concussions really suck." Danny said brushing Steve's hand off his shoulder and hoisting himself up to sitting. Seeing Steve's annoyed look he added. "I'm fine now. Give me a hand up so I can finish dressing."

Steve suddenly realised that Danny was uncomfortable laying there less than half dressed, and turned to Kono. "Can you go grab the cloth from the bathroom? He's a bit sweaty." She nodded and left the room. Chin came over and together he and Steve assisted Danny up. They helped him fasten his trousers up, before sitting on the edge of the bed.

Kono returned and sat on the bed next to Danny. She wiped the cloth over the back off Danny's neck.

"Thanks." Danny smiled. "Sorry I scared you all. I'm good now." He said grabbing his t-shirt and hoisting it over his head.

"Should we call a doctor?" Kono asked, looking at Steve to make the decision.

"Steve has Dr. Pearce on speed dial." Danny joked, much to Chin and Kono's amusement.

"I don't think we need to bother her. She said you could have the odd dizzy spell until the concussion settles. If you're feeling better, we'll hold off for now. But I'll stay home today again to keep an eye on you." Steve stated and Danny knew not to bother arguing with him.

"Guess that means I'm not going back to my house tonight." Danny sighed.

"You guessed right." Steve said helping Danny to his feet. "Come on, you need to eat so you can take your meds.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Danny reassured the whole team he felt better after eating breakfast, so Chin and Kono left for the office. They didn't have any cases at the moment, seeing as they had managed to round up the gang supplying the guns to teenagers. Steve felt happy to leave them to it, so he could keep an eye on his partner. While Danny reassured him he was ok and the CT scan had been clear, Steve couldn't help the nagging feeling in his gut that all wasn't right.

They spent the day relatively quiet, and ate some lunch out on the lanai. After they watched some TV, but after 15 minutes Danny had started with another headache, so Steve helped him upstairs to have a sleep. Steve kept checking in on his partner every 30 minutes, only to find his partner snoring each time. An hour and forty minutes later, Danny steadily made his way down the stairs and Steve jumped up from the recliner where he had been watching a recorded football game.

Watching Danny cross the living room he noticed how unsteady he was on his feet, and that Danny was favouring his right leg. He grabbed hold of Danny's left arm and guided him down to the couch.

"My head feels like isn't gonna explode Steve." Danny groggily stated.

"Hold on, I'll get you some more meds." Steve said darting into the kitchen and grabbing some water and the bottle of pills. He opened the water and passed it to Danny who took hold of it in his left hand only to drop it.

"Shit, sorry." Danny said trying to retrieve the bottle and pitching forward. Steve reacted on instinct and grabbed Danny's shoulders to push him back onto the couch and swung his legs around so he was lying flat.

"I'm ok." Danny reassured glancing at the puddle on the floor. "Sorry."

"Humor me here Danny." Steve said taking hold of Danny's right hand. "Squeeze my hand." He ordered. Danny sighed and gave it a quick squeeze. "Hard Danny, squeeze it hard." Danny put some force behind his squeeze. Steve then let go and took hold of Danny's left hand. "Again, the same." Danny once again sighed and squeezed Steve's hand. "Hard again, Danny." Steve instructed.

"I was doing it hard." Danny replied closing his eyes. "Shit Steve, please can I have the pain meds?" He begged.

"Sorry buddy." Steve said pulling out his phone. "I can't give them to you. They might interfere with what the hospital wants to give you."

"Hossspittal..." Danny slurred. "No, it's just...just a headache."

"Sorry buddy." Steve said squeezing his friends shoulder as the call connected and he requested an ambulance.

Danny closed his eyes and tried to take deep breaths, hoping it would help the pain. He was startled as his right eye was peeled open and a bright light pierced through his skull, then the same happened with his left. He forced his eyes open and saw Steve hovering by his feet looking nervous, and Ani, the EMT who always seemed to get called out to the team, was perched at the side of him. Realising he must have blacked out he groaned as the pain spiked in his head once more.

He heard Ani talking to him but couldn't make sense of what she was saying. He felt a pinch in the back of his right hand, then warmth spread up his arm, and the pain in his head eased a little.

Danny felt his heart rate speed up as an oxygen mask was placed over his face and he suddenly felt claustrophobic. His world then spun as he was moved onto a gurney and he tried to move his left arm but found it heavy and unresponsive. "Steve," he called out looking for reassurance.

Steve was suddenly right by his side as they moved out of the house. "It's ok Danny. We're just going to see Dr. Pearce. She'll sort you out."

"Ok. Tell her not to yell at me, my head hurts and I rested like she told me." Danny muttered underneath the oxygen mask.

Steve couldn't help but smile a little, as out of it and in pain as Danny was, his usual personality shone through.

The ambulance started up and headed towards the hospital. Danny groaned as the siren sprang into life. "Awe, make it stop, turn it off please?" He begged as it pierced through his head.

"I'm sorry Danny." Ani apologised, "we need it to get you to the hospital as soon as possible."

Steve watched her assess Danny, checking his vitals and rechecking his pupils and response to stimuli. She normally liked to banter with the team and joke about their injuries, but today she was all business, which didn't reassure Steve at all. Ani was obviously very concerned about Danny.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Danny was rushed through to the emergency room and Dr. Pearce nodded for Steve to follow. Danny was still semi-conscious and her best bet at keeping him calm was to have Steve nearby.

"Danny, I'm just going to examine you." She informed her patient before shining her pen torch in his eyes and eliciting a groan. She then moved on to assess his motor responses, and receiving the same response as Steve she called to a nurse. "Set me up with an intubation tray and call MRI for an urgent scan."

She then stepped away to speak to Steve. Lowering her voice, in case Danny could hear, and not wanting to scare her patient she spoke softly. "Danny is showing signs of a brain bleed. We need to take him for an MRI scan, it might show us something the CT didn't. He may then possibly require surgery."

"He won't handle the MRI well, are you going to sedate him again?" Steve asked knowing the MRI machine would be worse than the CT.

"Yes I am. But because of Danny's presentation I'm going to heavily sedate him, which will mean he won't be able to breath for himself. Steve, I want to put him in a medically induced coma until we get the scan and know what we are dealing with."

"Ok." Steve nodded looking over at his ill best friend.

Dr. Pearce moved back over to Danny and placed her hand on his chest, "Danny?" She softly roused. Two blue slits appeared as Danny desperately tried to open his eyes and focus on her face. "We need to get another scan, and I know you don't like them, so I'm going to send you off to sleep for a bit. Ok?"

Danny gave a small nod, trusting the doctor to do what was best for him. She steadily injected a milk white substance into the port in his hand, and his eyes gradually closed. Checking for a response Dr. Pearce then tipped his head back to open his airway and picked up the laryngoscope off the tray the nurse brought over to her. Placing it in Danny's mouth she picked up the endotracheal tube and guided it down Danny's airway. The nurse connected it to a bag and began squeezing as the doctor listened to both sides of Danny's chest with her stethoscope. "Equal breath sounds." She confirmed before securing the tube in place.

Steve watched her every move, his heart racing and stomach churning away. His best friend was seriously ill. He winced as he saw the tube being guided down his partner throat and secured in place. Danny's breathing was now in the hands of a nurse, and his life depended on the results of the scan. He heard Dr. Pearce order some blood tests and a Foley catheter to be placed. The other nurses followed out her orders, while she headed back to Steve and gently guided him out of the room. "We are taking him for the scan now." She said forcing him to sit down. "I'll let you know the results as soon as we have them." Steve just nodded, not knowing what to say. He watched her return to Danny's room and pulled out his phone. Deciding that he would wait 'til he knew the scan results to call Rachel, he hit Chin's number and waited for him to answer.

"Hey Steve." Chin answered.

"Chin, I'm at the hospital with Danny," Steve started, "he got worse this afternoon and I had to call an ambulance. Dr. Pearce just took him for another scan, but it's bad, she thinks he's had a brain bleed."

"Oh god. We're on our way. Stay strong Steve, Danny's tough." Chin reassured before hanging up and walking to Kono's office.

"We need to go cus," he said as she looked up from her report, "Steve's at the hospital with Danny. It's bad." The look on her cousin's face told Kono all that she needed as she jumped to her feet and followed him out of the building.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Steve sat in the waiting room, nervously tapping his foot as he saw Chin and Kono enter the hospital and make a bee line for him. "Any news?" Kono asked anxiously.

"Not yet," Steve replied shaking his head, "Dr. Pearce promised me she would let me know as soon as they get the results."

"She didn't let you go with him to try and keep him calm again?" Chin asked.

"She didn't need me," Steve said after taking a deep breath and trying to shake the image of his best friend with a tube down his throat. "She put him in a medically induced coma. They have him sedated and on a ventilator until they know what they are dealing with."

Kono stifled a small sob and sat down next to Steve, Chin followed suit on his other side. All three remaining silent until the familiar face of Dr. Pearce entered the waiting room and headed straight for them.

Motioning for them to stay seated, she pulled over a chair and sat opposite them. "Well it could be worse." She started.

"But it's not great?" Steve asked picking up on the tone in her voice.

"No it's not great. Today's scan showed a sub acute subdural haematoma, a blood clot, between the skull, and the brain." She explained.

"But the scan from the other day was clear, was it missed?" Steve asked.

"No Steve, I didn't miss it, I've already re-checked his scans, just to reassure myself." She explained. Dr. Pearce was close to the team now and she was just as concerned about Danny as them. "It looks like Danny ruptured some small blood vessels in the incident that didn't show up on the first scan. Over the past 36 hours they have continued to bleed, causing a blood clot to form."

"Okay, so now what, what does that mean for Danny?" Chin asked the question all three wanted to know.

"He's been taken to surgery by our top neurosurgeon. The blood clot is fortunately reasonably small, so Dr. Archer plans to drill a burr hole behind Danny's ear where the clot is located and suck out as much as he can, then place a drain. This way Danny avoids major brain surgery and the recovery will be much better."

"But he will recover?" Steve asked.

"Baring any complications, yes he should recover. He'll be moved to the Neuro ICU once they have finished, and Dr. Archer wants him awake so I'll make sure you're allowed in as soon as possible to help keep him calm." She explained.

Chin and Kono sighed in relief, but Steve was still concerned. "Will he recover fully? What about his left side? He could barely move it." Hearing this, Chin and Kono sucked in a breath and held it waiting for the doctor's response.

"We're hopeful, that with the clot removed, that will improve. But we won't know until he wakes up, and even when he does, it may take some time before we see improvement." Dr. Pearce explained.

"Okay, thanks Dr. Pearce." Steve said, running his hands through his hair. She got up and left, leaving the three of them in silence again.

Kono was the first to speak, "he'll be fine guys. We'll get him through this and back to 100%"

"Yeah, you're right." Steve replied. "There is no other option."

"None at all." Chin added.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Note: Big thanks to everyone who is reading and especially those who have left reviews. Time to reunite the team. **

**Chapter Five.**

Three hours later the trio were being led into the Neuro ICU. Steve had called Rachel and informed her of what had happened, and promised to keep her up to date.

As they reached the glass door the nurse, who had introduced herself as Becky, paused and spoke to them, "he still hasn't woken up after the surgery yet, but he is doing well and maintaining his oxygen levels by himself. Dr. Archer was able to remove most of the clot and the drain should take care of the rest. He also placed a wire so we can monitor the pressure inside Danny's head. So we need to be careful he doesn't dislodge either of them."

"Ok. When does Dr. Archer expect him to wake up?" Steve enquired.

"It should be soon." She smiled, sliding the door open and ushering them in.

"Oh god." Kono sobbed upon seeing her friend. She walked over to the bed, took hold of Danny's hand and stared at his head. A thick, large, white bandage encircled his head and only his crown of hair could be seen. The drain and monitor trailed across his pillow. "How much hair did he have to lose?" She asked, knowing how much Danny loved his hair.

"Not too much." A voice from behind said. Dr. Pearce walked into the room to join them and gave them a reassuring smile. "I made sure they kept it to a bare minimum and it's only the side behind his ear. I'm sure it will grow back in a few weeks so you would never know. Couldn't ruin those luscious locks eh?"

"Please don't let him hear you say that, we'll never hear the end of it." Steve said quietly.

"Dr. Archer was very happy with the surgery. I'm going to stay on as Danny's primary doctor 'cos no one else wants to deal with all your stubborn arses." All three team members smiled, they did have quite a reputation for getting what they wanted.

"I've just reviewed his charts and he's doing really well. I just want to do a quick exam." She said moving towards the head of the bed, as Kono stepped back to allow her room. She pulled out her pen torch and lifted Danny's left eye lid. Then she did the same with his right, but as she shone the light in he pulled his head away from the bright light. "Danny, its Dr. Pearce. I'm just checking your pupils." She said quickly shining the light in again. She managed to get a quick look before Danny recoiled from the bright light again.

Waving Steve forward she asked Danny to open his eyes but received no response. "You try," she indicated to Steve, "he might respond better to you."

Steve took hold of Danny's hand and tried to coax his best friend back to consciousness. "Come on buddy, open those eyes, I need to see those baby blues. Come on, you've slept long enough now."

Danny felt like he was floating, somewhere between awake and unconsciousness. He could hear the steady beeping from the heart monitor and feel the cool flow from the oxygen mask on his face. He didn't even care that this would normally make him feel claustrophobic.

He heard voices and then felt a hand take a hold of his. The owner of that hand then spoke and he realised it was Kono, he really wanted to give her a reassuring squeeze but he just couldn't get his hand to co-operate. There were more mumbled voices. Then he felt Kono let go of his hand and he felt the loss of comfort. He fought his way through the fog as he tried to wake himself up. He felt another presence by his bed and then there was a bright light in his left eye. As the light then returned in his right eye, it sent a sharp pain shooting through his head and he managed to pull away. He then heard the familiar voice of Dr. Pearce and the bright light returned only for him to shy away from it again.

Grateful that the light didn't return after that he then heard Dr. Pearce ask him to open his eyes. He tried, he really did but his eye lids felt weighed down by lead weights.

His right hand was then taken hold of and he heard the familiar voice of his partner, speaking to him. With all the strength he had, he managed to give his partners hand a small squeeze.

Feeling the squeeze Steve smiled. "That's good buddy, but we want those eyes open. Give it up with the beauty sleep, it's never gonna improve that ugly mug of yours."

Danny took a deep breath and using all his energy finally forced open his eyes. "That's better." Steve said reassuringly rubbing Danny's forearm.

Eyes roaming the room, Danny saw Chin and Kono anxiously looking at him from the bottom of the bed, Steve and Dr. Pearce stood either side of him. "Wha...what hap..happened?" He forced out.

"You had a small bleed on your brain Danny. We had to place a drain in your skull so I need you to try and keep your head still for me, okay?" Dr. Pearce explained.

"K."

"Can you remember how you hurt your head?" She asked.

Danny thought for a second then replied, "A guy hit me with some wood."

"That's good Danny." She reassured. "Now, can you tell me who this is?" She asked pointing at Steve.

"Super SEAL." Danny replied turning his head slightly to see his partner. "Are you pissed at me again?"

Steve gave a laugh of relief. While obviously exhausted, Danny seemed to be his normal self. "No buddy just concerned."

"Danny." Dr. Pearce called trying to regain his focus. She wanted to complete her exam before he got too tired. "Can you tell me your daughter's name?"

"Grace." Danny replied. "She ok?" He directed at Steve again.

"She's fine Danny." Starve reassured.

"Ok good, Danny. Your memory seems fine. Now, I saw you do it just before but can you squeeze Steve's hand again for me." Danny complied, giving Steve's hand a good steady squeeze. "and how about mine?" She added taking hold of his left hand.

The team all watched as Danny gave a weak squeeze. "Good." She said moving down to his feet and pulling back the sheet. "Now push against my hand with your right foot...now your left."

Once again Danny was noticeably weaker on his left side.

"That's not good, is it?" Danny asked aware of his deficit.

"At this stage of your recovery it's fine Danny. It will improve. Now I want you to rest. Sleep if you need to."

Danny gave a small nod and winced. "Are you in pain?" Steve asked at once.

"Yeah, my head, my head is pounding." Danny explained.

"I'll get you something for that." Dr. Pearce said leaving the room. Danny's eyes slowly tracked across the room, stopping at Chin and Kono he struggled to focus. Seeing his difficulty they both moved closer to the bed, Kono taking a hold of his hand again.

"You scared us brah, don't do that again." Chin said with only concern in his voice.

"Sorry." Danny managed, his eyes drooping. Dr. Pearce returned and added a painkiller to Danny's IV. The ache in his head immediately dialled back a notch and he gave a weak smile.

"Better?" Steve asked seeing the smile.

"Yeah." Danny said freeing his hand from Steve's and attempting to remove the oxygen mask.

"Hey, leave that alone." Steve chastised.

"It's fine Steve." Dr. Pearce said. "We can swap it to a nasal cannula now." She carefully removed the mask and replaced it with the cannula.

Danny was now totally exhausted, and with the pain now much better his eyes began to close only for him to struggle to open them again.

"Go back to sleep Danny." Steve ordered. "We'll be here when you wake up. Don't fight it." Danny gave a small smile as he drifted back off.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Danny slept for several hours, allowing the team to get some sleep too. Sat in chairs surrounding Danny's bed, they all slept, heads back at awkward angles. Becky, Danny's nurse had regularly checked on him, monitoring his vitals and intracranial pressure, and the whole medical team were happy with his progress.

Danny slowly awoke, and as his eyes focused he looked around his bed and had to stifle a small laugh as it sent pain spiking through his head. He couldn't help but smile, seeing his three team mates sleeping at such awkward angles. Kono was curled in her chair like a cat. Chin had his head thrown right back, soft snores filling the air. Turning his head slightly to his right, he saw Steve sat right by his side, hand resting on the bed close to his own, and he wondered if Steve had fallen to sleep holding his.

He jumped slightly as Becky suddenly arrived on his left side. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She smiled, "I saw you were awake and wanted to check on you. How's the head? Any pain?"

"It's ok." Danny croaked his throat dry.

Becky smiled and picked up a glass of water containing a straw. "Here." She offered. Danny leaned forward and sipped the cool water, grateful for the relieve it brought. Slowly he brought his left hand up to hold the glass and huffed in frustration at the shakiness. Becky steadied his hand and reassured, "that's a good improvement already Danny, once the drain is out, things will improve more."

"When can it come out?" Danny asked, unsure if he had already been told the answer.

"Probably another 24hrs, then we can get you up and out of bed. You'll be back on your feet in no time. So make the most of taking it easy today." She said placing the glass back down on the bedside table. She quickly checked Danny's vitals then left the room.

Danny closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nose, sucking in the oxygen supplied from the cannula, then wriggled his nose as it caused a tickle. Bringing his hand up he quickly repositioned the plastic tubing into a more comfortable position and deciding, as he was already halfway there, he might as well check out the damage to his hair. His hand brushed against the thick bandage covering his forehead before it was yanked away, causing his eyes to burst open.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Steve said trying to keep his voice low so not to wake up Chin and Kono. "You need to be careful of the drain."

"I was being careful. I just wanted to work out how bad my hair was." Danny whined. "Why the big bandage?"

"It's to hold the drain in place and make sure you don't pull it out." Steve informed him, grateful that Danny had now placed his hand back on the bed and was alert enough to hold a conversation.

"Ok, so how much hair did I lose?" Danny asked nervously.

"Sorry Danno, they had to shave the whole lot. Think of the money you'll save on styling products." Steve joked, then instantly regretted it when he saw Danny's face drop and the little colour he had drain from his face. The beeping of the heart monitor picked up speed.

"Wh...what?" Danny half sobbed, "All of it?"

"Shit, Danny no," Steve said leaping forward and placing his hand on Danny's forearm. "I'm sorry, I was joking. They barely took any, just a small patch at the side. Dr. Pearce made sure they did a good job. I'm sorry I shouldn't have joked, it was too soon."

Becky hurried into the room and headed straight to Danny's side, waking Chin and Kono in the process. "Danny, are you ok? Your heart rate just spiked."

Danny took a few deep breaths then turned to Becky. "Yeah, I'm ok. Sorry. My partner was just being an ass."

Three faces turned to Steve, Chin and Kono looked confused as to what the problem was, Becky looked pissed that her patient had been upset. Steve looked sheepish then looked apologetically at Becky. "Sorry. I tried to joke way too soon."

"He told me they had shaved off all my hair." Danny explained with a little smirk, knowing his partner was now in big trouble.

"Steve," Chin scolded. "Boss!" Kono shouted at the same time.

"No upsetting him or I'll kick you out." Becky said pointing a finger at Steve, then happy that Danny was ok, left the room again.

"Sorry Danny." Steve apologised.

"It's okay, I guess I deserved it. I'm sorry for worrying you all." Danny replied, "You don't have to stay. You must all be tired. Those chairs don't look comfy."

"I'm good." Steve said settling back and crossing his arms across his chest as if daring anyone to say otherwise.

"We'll stay a little longer." Chin said noting the time was coming up to 7am and the nurses would probably want to help Danny freshen up soon.

Kono nodded in agreement, "how are you feeling?"

Danny considered the question for a second then replied, "Better, I think. My head doesn't hurt as much, and I don't feel sick. My left side still isn't co-operating very well though, but Becky said it will improve more."

"Dr. Pearce isn't concerned about that Danny." Steve reassured. "It will improve with time and some PT."

"Oh great, another trip to nurse Ratchet." Danny moaned, making the others laugh.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: Well this is the last chapter, but it's a bit longer than some of the others. Thank you all for the reviews. I should be posting my next one soon as it's finished, just needs to be beta'd. **

**Many thanks as always to wenwalke. **

**Chapter Six**.

Steve sat waiting outside Danny's ICU room, nervously tapping his foot. He'd been made to leave while they removed the drain and pressure monitor from Danny's skull, and he was anxious to hear how it had gone. Both Dr. Pearce and Dr. Archer had reviewed Danny earlier that morning and were extremely pleased with his progress.

The previous day had been spent resting, with Danny sleeping on and off throughout the day. Steve had been a constant by Danny's side, while Chin and Kono had gone home for a few hours then come back to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with Danny. When they returned they had found Danny sleeping and Steve looking fed up. He explained that Danny had been less than pleased to have to accept help from the nurses to have a wash, and when lunch had come and Danny had struggled with his left hand, Steve had offered to cut up the food for him. Danny had got angry, more at the situation than Steve, and the nurses had been forces to administer a mild sedative to calm him down.

Despite that episode, Danny had made steady progress throughout the day. The movement on his left side had improved a little, and the pressure in Danny's head had remained stable. Although still weak and tired, the doctors had decided to go ahead and remove the drain to continue with Danny's rehabilitation.

Steve looked up as the door slid open and Dr. Pearce, and Danny's day nurse Heather, left the room.

"All done, you can go in now." Dr. Pearce said seeing how anxious Steve was. "He did fine and I've stitched up the hole. We'll do another scan in an hour, under light sedation, to make sure there has been no further bleeding. All being well, we can move him to a normal room after that. I'm hopeful I will be able to discharge him later this week, once his strength is better on the left side. Physio will see him this afternoon."

"Another scan? Does Danny know about that?"

"He does, and he's fine with it as I'm going to sedate him." She reassured.

Steve entered the room and was relieved to see Danny looking the best he had in 48 hours. The big bandage was gone and Danny's hair was a ruffled mess, but he was sat up in bed and smiling. "It's really not that bad, is it?" Danny said turning his head so Steve could see the shaven area to the right side of his head.

"I don't know." Steve said eyeing up the bald patch that now sported three neat stitches. "Maybe you should just shave it all off."

"Yeah, I think not. I'm not gonna take hair advise from someone who styles his hair after Sinead O'Connor."

Steve laughed and dropped down in the chair next to the bed. "How're you feeling?"

"Better now that bulky bandage and drain are gone. Bit of a headache, but Dr. Pearce said that's to be expected. Heather is getting me some pain meds for it." Danny said rubbing his brow. "I just want to get out of here now."

"Dr. Pearce said she was gonna move you to a normal room after the scan, then you have the pleasure of PT this afternoon. Bet it will feel good to get out of bed."

"Yeah it will, but honestly I'm exhausted just thinking about it." Danny sighed.

"Get some rest then, it won't be long before they're here to take you for your scan." Steve replied.

"Don't remind me." Danny groaned lowering the bed down so he could sleep more comfortably. Heather returned to the room, injected some pain relief into Danny's IV and he was soon asleep.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Dr. Pearce had returned not long after, administered the sedative and accompanied Danny for the scan. There was no further evidence of any bleeding, so Danny was moved to a private room to sleep off the sedative. Steve had taken the opportunity to nip home, shower, shave and change clothes. He returned to the hospital to find Danny awake and eating a light lunch. Most of the monitoring equipment had been removed along with the catheter and an IV, leaving only one cannula in the back of Danny's right hand to administer prophylactic antibiotics and fluids.

"Looking good, buddy." Steve grinned entering the room and setting a bag of Danny's things down on the floor. "I called at your house on the way back and picked up some clothes and things."

"Thanks." Danny said pushing the food tray away. "Any chance of a hand getting dressed? The Physiotherapist is coming in half an hour, and I'd rather not flash the whole nursing staff as I get out of bed."

"Why not? Would probably be the highlight of their day." Steve joked grabbing the bag and pulling out a t-shirt and sweats.

A few minutes later Steve had successfully managed to help Danny into the sweat pants and remove the gown. He was now trying to figure out how to get the t-shirt on with the IV running.

"I can help with that." A familiar voice said entering the room.

"Hey Dawn." Both men replied.

"I think you need to start paying rent." She said pointing at Danny then removing the IV line from the pump, feeding the bag through the t-shirt, and helping Danny with the rest of it before replacing the line back in the pump.

"Short straw again, huh?" Danny smiled.

"Yep. I think I must have been really bad in a previous life." She joked, but in all honesty she didn't mind looking after the team. She liked how they all cared so much for each other and supported each other no matter what. She stood back and looked at Danny. "Good to be back in your own clothes, eh?"

"Yeah." Danny sighed then ran his hand through his hair, self conscious of the fact that it was a mess and kept falling into his face.

"Here." Steve said tossing Danny a tub of hair product. "Shit sorry." He apologised as the tub hit Danny in the chest, his reflexes still a little slow.

"You're forgiven, seeing as you remembered this." Danny said waving the tub then struggling to open it with his weakens left hand.

"Let me?" Dawn said taking the tub, opening it and then passing it back to Danny. She moved to the cupboard at the side and pulled out a mirror so Danny could style his hair. It wasn't up to his usual smart slicked back standard, but it at least looked tidier now.

"Thanks guys." Danny said taking one last look at the bald patch at the side of his head.

"No problem." Dawn replied, "Sam, the Physiotherapist, will be in in a minute to get you out of bed. Behave and I'll slip you an extra pudding." She said leaving the room.

"You know, I swear she sometimes thinks we're one of her kids." Danny joked.

"That's because you both have a tendency to behave like them." Dawn called from outside the room.

"And you say I have ninja hearing." Steve whispered.

There was a knock at the door and both men looked up half expecting to see Dawn about to tell them off again, but instead saw a young Hawaiian man with curly black hair.

"Aloha, I'm Sam your Physiotherapist. I'm here to give you a hand getting up and about. How does that sound?"

"Good." Danny replied, "I'm sick of laying here."

"Great." Sam said entering the room. "Well then let's see how you're doing. Your notes say you're experiencing some left sided weakness. Can you raise and hold both your arms out in front of you?"

Danny did as he was asked, his left hand noticeably shakier, but Sam was happy with the movement. After assessing Danny's leg strength, Sam made sure the chair was in a good position for Danny to sit in. He then nipped out of the room and returned seconds later with a walking frame.

Danny's eyes bulged at the sight if it. "No. No way am I using that thing." He said, his voice raised.

"This will help steady you Danny. Your movement is actually really good, but you are going to need a little support for a day or so. Once you're sat out we can go through some exercises to improve your arm and leg. I expect you to be walking out of here unaided in a few days."

"I'm not a frail old man, I don't need that." Danny said eyeing up the metal frame with disgust.

"Danny, just use the frame, please." Steve asked, "Nobody is going to think any less of you for it. You just had a serious head injury. Please, use the damn frame."

Danny considered it for a second, then nodded, "ok, if I have to." He sighed.

"Ok Danny, this will go a lot easier if two of us help you. Are you ok if your friend...?"

"Steve." Steve replied seeing Sam's questioning look.

"Is it ok for Steve to lend a hand?"

"Sure." Danny replied, knowing there was no way Steve would sit back and just watch.

"Steve, if you can support his right side, I'll take his left." Sam instructed.

Steve moved to the head of the bed so he would be in the right position, as Sam threw back the bedding and helped Danny move his legs closer to the edge. Danny then push himself up into a sitting position. As Danny righted himself and let his feet dangle over the side of the bed he suddenly felt a flush of heat hit his whole body, and he could hear his own heart beat. Spots of light danced in the periphery of his vision and he suddenly felt nauseous.

He closed his eyes and tried taking deep breaths, hoping to dial back the urge to vomit, as he felt Steve and Sam instantly by his side. Steve had placed his hand on Danny's shoulder to reassure his friend he was there. Sam had moved in to support Danny as he listed slightly to his left. "That's it Danny. Nice steady breaths, it will pass." He reassured.

After a minute the dizziness receded and Danny slowly opened his eyes. "Better?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm good now. Let's do this." Danny said keen to get it over with.

Sam placed the frame in front of Danny so he could take hold of it and instructed, "once your stood, we're gonna wait for a minute before moving. You might feel a bit dizzy again, ok?" Danny nodded, then slowly with Sam and Steve's support he stood. Sam was right he did feel dizzy again, but not as bad as before. Arms shaking, as he supported his weight through the frame, Danny nodded that he was ok and gradually moved around. Again with help, he lower himself down into the chair. Steve moved the frame away as Sam moved in to show Danny the exercises he needed to be doing to strengthen his left side. Once finished, Sam bid them good bye and left.

Steve looked at Danny, sat out in the chair. The only remaining evidence of how ill he had been was the bald spot, stitches, and the one IV that remained. Now Danny was up and about it was only a matter of time before he was discharged. Steve knew his best friend would be desperate to get back to his own house, but there was no way he would be up to looking after himself. Knowing his partner was a proud man, and didn't like to accept help, he worried that the next conversation could go horribly wrong. Seeing that Danny was again slightly listing to the left, he grabbed the pillow off the bed and wedged it between his partner and the chair. "Better?" He asked.

"Yeah, thanks. I hate this. I feel so useless." Danny replied while picking at the dressing holding his IV in place.

"So, no different to your usual self, then?" Steve joked trying to lighten Danny's mood.

Danny looked up at Steve and scowled, "I hate you."

"No you don't, you love me." Steve retorted and Danny cracked a smile.

Steve decided to take a chance, "listen, when you get out of here, in a few days. Will you please come and stay with me until you're properly back on your feet? You can have the downstairs room, so no stairs."' He added trying to sweeten the deal.

Danny took a second to think about it then replied. "Thanks, that would be good."

"What? You agreed that easily. I expected a fight. Are you feeling ok?" Steve asked shocked that Danny had agreed.

"Honestly, no I don't feel great. I'm exhausted just from getting out of bed, so I'm guessing it's gonna take me a while to be back to full speed, so having someone around makes sense." Danny replied.

Steve smiled and sat down on the chair near Danny. That had gone so much better than he feared and he was grateful Danny was willing to accept the help he needed.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Three days later Danny steadily made his way through the front door. Steve hovering close by in case his best friend needed any support. Danny had worked hard with the Physiotherapist and his strength and movement was almost back to normal on his left side. But he found himself easily tired. Chin followed behind them carrying Danny's bag over his shoulder, the over hand carried a bag full of pills. Danny had been discharged with antibiotics to take, anti inflammatories, pain killers, and antiemetics, as he was still suffering from migraines, but had been reassured they would settle in time.

Kono came out of Steve's kitchen to welcome them. She had been preparing dinner for them all, and gave Danny a hug. "Good to have you out of there, brah."

"It's good to be out." Danny said making his way to the couch.

"That certainly was a hard lesson in not running off on your own." Chin said.

"Trust me, I learnt my lesson. In the future I leave all that stuff to SuperSEAL." Danny sighed.

"How about none of us go off on our own." Kono said, knowing anyone of them would have done the same thing as Danny.

"Deal!" All three men replied together, to the satisfaction of their youngest member.

The End.


End file.
